Devro plc is a multinational company with registered office in
Moodiesburn
Moodiesburn is a village in Scotland, located northeast of Glasgow, in the North Lanarkshire council area. It is situated on the north side of the A80 road and between the M73 and M80 motorways which converge nearby. Moodiesburn does not di ...
,
Chryston
Chryston is a village in North Lanarkshire, around east of Glasgow, in Scotland. It lies north of its sister village, Muirhead, which is on the A80. The village has around double Muirhead's population, although the exact boundary between the ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
which manufactures and distributes goods derived from collagen, principally sausage casings, a product in which it is the world leader. The firm also produces films, casings and other specialised collagen products for use in the health care and cosmetics industries. The company is listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...
.
History
Devro was founded as a new business of Johnson & Johnson in 1950s after its researchers developed a material suitable for the manufacture of sausage casings from collagen. The business name was devised as an
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
of "Development and Research Organisation", the Johnson & Johnson unit from which it emerged.
The firm was subject to a £108 million management buyout from J&J in 1991 and was listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...
two years later. In 1996 it acquired the American firm Teepak International for US$135 million, including its majority stake in the Czech company Cutisin. The Czech unit was fully acquired in 2004.
Devro sold its cellulose business in 2000 for £4.8m, which resulted in a massive exceptional loss of £54.5m.
In early 2007 Devro engaged in talks with an undisclosed suitor, rumoured to be its then-largest shareholder Acomita Investment (a vehicle controlled by
John Magnier
John Magnier (born 10 February 1948; also known as "The Boss") is an Irish business magnate. He is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry.
Magnier has also been a Sena ...
), over a
takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
of the company. The talks were however terminated after an agreement could not be reached on issues relating to its
pension scheme
A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
.
The company was promoted to the FTSE 250 Index on 27 August 2010 after the acquisition of
Arriva
Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Deutsche Bahn was completed.
In late 2015, Devro acquired PVI Industries, a Dutch-based collagen manufacturer, in a £10m deal.
Peter Page stepped down as Chief Executive on 28 February 2018, after almost 11 years in the position. He is widely credited in managing the company's turnaround. Peter was replaced by Rutger Helbing, the company's former Finance Director.
Operations
Some 1,450 of Devro's 2,200 employees are based in Europe, with the majority of these at manufacturing and research and development facilities in
Jilemnice
Jilemnice (; german: Starkenbach) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Administrative parts ...
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. Devro headquarters are in
Moodiesburn
Moodiesburn is a village in Scotland, located northeast of Glasgow, in the North Lanarkshire council area. It is situated on the north side of the A80 road and between the M73 and M80 motorways which converge nearby. Moodiesburn does not di ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
The company's largest manufacturing site by volume is also the newest, in
Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...
, China, other manufacturing and technical plants are located in Jilemnice, Czech republic,
Sandy Run, South Carolina Sandy Run is an unincorporated community in Calhoun County, South Carolina, United States. Its elevation is 154 feet (47 m).
Sandy Run is best known for hosting the United States Marine Corps semi-annual Mud Run. Sandy Run is named after ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Bathurst, New South Wales
Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in ...
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...